Summer Nights / Summertime
First Day of Summer
Song: “Summer Nights’” from Grease (1978)
Today marks the first official day of summer. Though it has felt like summer for several weeks already, the solstice gives us an excuse to celebrate the season properly. There are countless songs about summer, so I turned to my friend Aileen and asked her what song she most associates with this time of year.
Before getting to her choice, I have to share one of my own favorites.
“Summer Nights’” from Grease is one of those songs I have loved since childhood. On the surface, it is simply a duet about a summer romance between Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson. What makes it so entertaining, however, is that they are telling completely different versions of the same story.
When Sandy describes the relationship to her friends, it sounds sweet and innocent. They held hands. They walked on the beach. They spent time together under the summer sun. Danny’s version is quite different. Surrounded by his friends, he fills the story with bravado and innuendo, presenting himself as a conquering hero.
The humor comes from the audience knowing that neither version is entirely true. Yet beneath all the jokes and exaggeration, the song is also surprisingly romantic. When Danny and Sandy unexpectedly find each other again at school, we realize that both of them harbor real feelings for the other.
And then there is that final “Grease chord” that closes the song. It is one of the most recognizable endings in musical theater. What is not to love?
In conversation with: “Summertime” by George Gershwin, recorded by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)
After I shared my selection with Aileen, she countered with another song that captures the season: “Summertime,” George Gershwin’s classic from Porgy and Bess.
But Aileen did not choose one of the many traditional recordings. Instead, she introduced me to the version performed by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
Gershwin originally wrote “Summertime” as a lullaby. Joplin transforms it into something entirely different. Her powerful voice and the band’s psychedelic rock sound turn the song into a performance filled with energy, passion, and intensity. It is one of those rare covers that feels completely different from the original, but might be just as great.
Aileen told me, “I wanted to be as cool as her when I was growing up! I’ve had to let that dream die.”
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